Aquarium

ABSTRACT

An aquarium unit including a frame, a tray having an aquarium compartment thereon being mounted with the frame for slidable movement and positioning means for maintaining the tray and aquarium compartment substantially horizontally even when pulled outwardly of the frame.

United States Patent 1191 Nov. 27, 1973 Patterson AQUARIUM 2,747,9435/1956 Metcalf 312/344 x Inventor: Carol M. Patterson P-O. x 5 2,985,4915/1961 Hayes 308/3.8

i ex 7 Primary ExaminerLou1s G. Mancene [22] Filed: July 26, 9 AssistantExaminer l. N. Eskovitz 1 App] NO 275 315 Att0rneyPravel, Nilson et al.

57 ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 119/5, 308/3.8 1 51 1111.01 AOlk 64/00 Anaquarium unit including a frame, a y having an [58] Field of Search119/5, 15, 17, 43; aquarium compartment thereon being mounted with 30/33; 312 341 343 344 34 the frame for slidable movement and positioningmeans for maintaining the tray and aquarium com- [56] References Cit dpartment substantially horizontally even when pulled P outwardly Of theframe. 2,726,915 12/ 1955 Schuette 308/3.8 X 5 Claims, 3 Drawing FiguresPAIENIEDHUYP"! ma 3774.575

sum lCF 2 1&1-

1 AQUARIUM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of this invention isaquariums, particularly multi-unit aquariums.

In conducting research with aquatic animals, it is desirable to isolatein a consistent environment individual or small groups of animals forexperimentation. In order to provide such an isolated environment,individual aquarium tanks are generally used; however, such aquariumtanks filled with water are very difficult to handle, particularly inlarge numbers. The handling difficulties are due not only to the weight,but also the difficulty in handling the tanks without spilling water.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide amulti-unit aquarium that is capable of isolating aquatic animals in sucha manner that the animals are readily available for inspection andexperimentation. This object and other objects of this invention areaccomplished by providing a multi-unit aquarium which includesa rackhaving a tray mounted thereon for slidable movement inwardly andoutwardly of the rack. An aquarium compartment is mounted on the trayand positioning means are provided for maintaining the aquariumcompartmentin a substantially stable ancl: horizontal positioneven whenthe compartments and trays arepulled outwardly of the rack. In thepreferredembodiment of this invention,a plurality of such trays areindependently mounted for movement outwardly ofthe rack, each trayhaving positioned thereonian aquarium compartment-whereby a multi-unitaquarium is formed.

The trays are maintained in a substantially horizontal position byrollers mounted onto the tray andpositioned-to rollingly engage upperandlower track sections mounted with therack. In'this manner, the trayand aquarium compartment'filled with-water can be pulled outwardlyfromthe rack-and yetbe maintained in a substantially horizontalposition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of amulti-unit aquarium of the preferred embodiment of this inventionillustrated with one of the aquarium compartments pulled outwardly ofthe unit;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an aquarium compartment; and

FIG. 3 is a rear view in perspective of the positioning means of thisinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the drawings,the letter A generally designates a multi-unit aquarium wherein aplurality of aquarium compartments'C-are maintained in a rela-' the rearlegs 10d and We by upper side rods 10g and 10h. In the preferredembodiment of this invention, the various legs, rods, and supports areextruded aluminum and are connected or attached together by welding.Each of the vertical legs, 10a, 10b, 10d and 10s have mounted on thebottom thereof conventional leveling plates 11 in order to adjust therack 10 to a'horizontal position in spite of a sloping or uneven floor.

Each of the aquarium compartments C are mounted in the rack 10 by asliding tray assembly generally designated'as 12 such that eachcompartment C can be normallyhoused within the confines of the rackl0'but may be pulled outwardly to the position of the com partmentdesignated as'C wheneverdesired. Referring to FIG. 2, each compartment Cis a four-walled transparent polycarbonate plastic basket or cage havingan upper lip 140. A lid 15 of steel or other suitable material includesa lipped portion such as l5a'which adapts the lid for placement over thecorresponding lipped portion 14a of the compartment C. A recess 15b ismachined in the lid 15 in order to receive and mount a conventionalaerator system 16. The aerator system 16 maybe of any conventionalvariety and may include a pump, a filter and an aerator system. Eachaerator system 16 for each compartment C in' the rack '10 is adaptedforelectrical connection to one of a number -of local electrical outlets 17which are positioned adjacent' to the compartments CJThe'electricaloutlets 17 extend outwardly from a conduit ortube 18 which is '20. Thebreaker box 20 includes a conventional electri- =cal5plug' line '21adapted tobe extended-into any conventionally located electrical'outlet(notshown). The

breaker'20 controls the distributionof power to each of the compartmentoutlets 17 in order to prevent the overloading thereof. The confining ofthe electrical wiring of the outlets 17 to the conduits l8 and 19 is anadditional safety feature of the multi-unit aquarium A.

Each sliding tray assembly 12 is rollably mounted in a track meansgenerally designated as 22 mounted with the rack 10 whereby the slidingtray assembly and aquarium compartment C mounted thereon are mov- 'ableoutwardly of the rack 10. Referring to FIG. 3, the

sliding-tray assembly 12 includes an insideL-shaped channel 12a and anoutside L-shaped channel 12b which are welded or otherwise attached tosupport bars 'l2c and 12d extendingthere-between. L-shaped channels 12eand 12f are also attached to the spaced channels 12a and 12b by weldingor other suitable means and include vertical portions such as 12g whichserve to securely mount a compartment C with the tray assenibly 12. Ahandle 12h is attached'by welding or other suitable means to the channel12e so that'the sliding tray' assembly 12 and compartment-C mounted"thereon can bepulled outwardly or pushed inwardly and 12b in order torollably mount the sliding tray assembly 12 and compartment C formovement along the track means 22.

The track means 22 includes outside track section 24 adapted to receivethe rolling means mounted with spaced channel 1 2b and inside tracksection 25 adapted to rollingly mount the track means 23 for the inside,spaced channel 12a.

The outside track section 24 includes an L-shaped channel 24a attachedonto horizontal rack rods lf and 100 and to vertical legs c and 10b ofthe rack 10. The channel 24a includes a horizontal portion 24b having aridge 24c extending the length thereof and the side 24d is enlarged orflared to form another ridge to further confine the rolling means 23 ina manner to be described hereinafter. Another L-shaped channel 26 iswelded or otherwise attached to the vertical legs we and 10b at the topof the channel 24a whereby horizontal portion 26a cooperates with thechannel 24a to provide a C-shaped outside channel section 24.

The inside track section 25 includes an invertedT- shaped channel 27mounted onto support rods 10f and 10e in position to receive the rollermeans 23 attached with tray channel 12a. The channel 27 actually formsthe inside track section 25 and includes horizontal, lower trackportions 27a having ridges 27b running the length thereof. Thehorizontal track portions 27a further include enlarged sides 270 whichprovide means for further confining the wheel means 23 of the traychannel 12a in a manner to be described hereinafter.

A flat bar 28 is mounted by means of bolts 28a onto vertical portion 27dof the inverted T-shaped track channel 27 in order to provide an uppertrack portion for the inside track section 25. Further, the bar 28cooperates with the channel 27 to provide two adjacent C-shaped tracksections to confine wheel means 23. The L-shaped, ridged channel 24a andthe inverted T- shaped channel 27 as well as the other channels and barsused are formed of extruded aluminum or other suitable means; however,other material may be used,

The roller means 23 for each tray channel 12a and 12b are identical,except, of course, for position in either outside track section 24 orinside track section 25. The roller means 23 includes bottom rollers 29and 30 which are mounted in proximity to each other onto the verticalportions of the tray channels 12a and 12b. The rollers 29 and 30 are ofa sealed bearing variety and are mounted with the tray channels 12a and12b by nuts such as 29a which threadedly mount bearing shafts such as29b, which extend through the tray channel 12a or 12b. The rollers 29and 30 are grooved at 29c and 30c in order to ride in the lower trackridges 27b and 240 of the inside and outside track sections,respectively. The rollers 29 and 30 are positioned to support the weightof the compartment C in each tray assembly 12 when filled with water.The outer flared sides such as 270 of the T-shaped track 27 cooperateswith the center ridges 27 b to confine the grooved wheels 29 and 30.

The roller means 23 further includes an upper roller 31 which is mountedwith the-vertical portions of the tray channels 12a and 12b in positionto continually engage the undersides of the channel 26 and the bar 25.The rollers 31 may be stainless steel, sealed bearing rollers and arepositioned near the rear end l2i andl2j of the tray'channels 12a and12b, respectively, in order to maintain the tray assembly 12 and thecompartment C mounted thereon in a substantiallyhorizontal position whenthe compartment C has been pulled outwardly to the position of thecompartment C. I

A rear stop bar 32 is attached by welding or other suitable means overthe rear end of the inverted T- shaped channel 27 in order toautomatically stop the sliding tray assembly 12 in a position of totalconfinement within the rack 10. Similarly, a stop bar 33 is mountedbetween-the front end of the inverted T- shaped channel 27 and theelectrical conduit 18 in order to limit the movement outwardly of thesliding tray assembly l2 and compartment C.

The sliding tray assemblies 12 are thus independently mounted within therack 10 and serve to contain a plurality of aquarium compartments C in aposition of easy access while storing such compartments using a minimumamount of actual floor space. The roller means 23 serve to mount thesliding tray assemblies 12 and compartment C outwardly to the positionof compartment C while maintaining the compartment C in a completelyhorizontal position thereby avoiding any spillage.

It is within the scope of this invention to mount multiunit aquariums Aback to back by attaching the rear legs 10d and l0e of one unit A to therear legs of another unit, which serves to even further balance thecompartments C against tilting. The ability to conveniently store such aplurality of aquarium compartments C in such a confined area allows theuser to provide an identical environment for all of the compartments Cin a minimum amount of floor space while providing for ease in access toeach compartment.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention areillustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the size,shape and materials as well as in the details of the illustratedconstruction may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

I claim: 1. A multiple unit aquarium for isolating aquatic animals forresearch or the like, cmprising:

a rack; a plurality of aquarium compartments; a plurality of slidingtray assemblies mounted in said rack for supporting said aquariumcompartments;

said rack including oppositely mounted upper and lower track members forreceiving a sliding tray assembly;

each of said sliding tray assemblies including:

a tray member for supporting one of said aquarium compartments;

said tray member including a first set of rollers mounted on each sidethereof in rolling engagement with said lower track members and a secondset of rollers mounted on each side of said tray member in rollingengagement with said upper track members whereby said tray member ismovable outwardly of said rack;

said first set of rollers including rollers having groovescircumferentially thereof; and

each of said lower track members having center ridges running the lengththereof for receiving said rollers of said first set whereby saidaquarium compartments are maintained horizontal 1 even when movedoutwardly from said rack. 2. The structure set forth in claim 1,including: .said rack. including front and rear vertical frame members,said tray assemblies and aquarium compartments being confinable withinsaid frame members; and v two of said racks being attachable byattaching means for attaching said vertical rear frame memmountedthereon.

4. The structure set forth in claim 1, including:

electrical conduit means mounted with said rack for receiving andconfining electrical wiring, said conduit means including outlet meansfor providing an electrical outlet in proximity to said aquariumcompartment.

5. The structure set forth in claim 1, including:

stop means attached with said rack to limit the movement of said trayand aquarium compartment outwardly of said rack.

1. A multiple unit aquarium for isolating aquatic animals for researchor the like, cmprising: a rack; a plurality of aquarium compartments; aplurality of sliding tray assemblies mounted in said rack for supportingsaid aquarium compartments; said rack including oppositely mounted upperand lower track members for receiving a sliding tray assembly; each ofsaid sliding tray assemblies including: a tray member for supporting oneof said aquarium compartments; said tray member including a first set ofrollers mounted on each side thereof in rolling engagement with saidlower track members and a second set of rollers mounted on each side ofsaid tray member in rolling engagement with said upper track memberswhereby said tray member is movable outwardly of said rack; said firstset of rollers including rollers having grooves circumferentiallythereof; and each of said lower track members having center ridgesrunning the length thereof for receiving said rollers of said first setwhereby said aquarium compartments are maintained horizontal even whenmoved outwardly from said rack.
 2. The structure set forth in claim 1,including: said rack including front and rear vertical frame members,said tray assemblies and aquarium compartments being confinable withinsaid frame members; and two of said racks being attachable by attachingmeans for attaching said vertical rear frame members together wherebytwo multiple unit aquariums are mounted back to back.
 3. The structureset forth in claim 1, including: said rack includes outside trackassemblies forming upper and lower track members and inside trackassemblies forming upper and lower track members; each pair of saidinside track assemblies including a T-shaped channel attached to a flatbar member for forming said inside track assemblies; and each of saidoutside track assemblies being formed of an L-shaped channel having aflat bar portion mounted thereon.
 4. The structure set forth in claim 1,including: electrical conduit means mounted with said rack for receivingand confining electrical wiring, said conduit means including outletmeans for providing an electrical outlet in proximity to said aquariumcompartment.
 5. The structure set forth in claim 1, including: stopmeans attached with said rack to limit the movement of said tray andaquarium compartment outwardly of said rack.